The Body Rise and Side Length are illustrated in FIG. 1. The relationship of the Body Rise to the Side Length (Body Rise-to-Side Length Ratio), as illustrated in FIG. 2, is an important product design parameter to ensure that the length of the article is not excessive. Excessive article length can result in extra materials in the crotch, leading to sagging, leakage, bulk between the legs and under clothing and in material showing above the top of the clothing all of which can have a negative impact on performance and discretion.
The Body Length and Side Length are illustrated in FIG. 3. The Body Length-to-Side Silhouette, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 correlates with the Body Rise-to-Side Length Ratio as the values of both increase as BMI and Waist Circumference increase. This is shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5.
As the Waist Circumference increases with BMI, Body Rise-to-Side Length Ratio and Body Length-to-Side Silhouette both increase. A key benefit of having the Product Length-to-Side Silhouette closer to that of the Body Length-to-Side Silhouette and designed to change accordingly with BMI and Waist Circumference is that the product itself more closely matches the shape of the body. This results in the product being deformed to a significantly lesser degree during application than one that is generically designed to fit a bigger range as illustrated by the current marketed products. It also results in a product fit, which is more tailored to the body shape, providing more effective gasketing, product coverage and less extraneous material in the crotch and at the top of the article that may show outside of the clothing. In fact, many of the current marketed products are designed to fit increments as large as 100 pounds and, as such do not provide adequate fit, gasketing, comfort, coverage and discretion across the entire range. Additionally, product designs which mimic the general shape of the body convey to consumers a better, more tailored fit as the Product Length-to-Side Silhouettes are more similar to consumers' Body Length-to-Side Silhouettes.
Another consideration is that some consumers prefer a product style that provides for a lower fit, such that the front waist edge is below the navel. Products designed to fit below the navel and around the waist to the small of the back also fall into the Low Motion area of the anatomy, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,500 to LaVon, et al., providing increased product stability, comfort and gasketing. Products designed to deliver a lower fit relative to the navel will by necessity require a smaller Product Length-to-Side Silhouette.
Another important silhouette is the Product Hip-to-Waist Silhouette. As BMI increases, both the Hip Circumference measurement and Waist Circumference measurement increase. However the Waist Circumference increases at a higher rate than the Hip Circumference. This causes the Waist Circumference measurement to approach the Hip Circumference measurement in higher BMI women, whereas the Hip Circumference measurement is typically larger than the Waist Circumference measurement in lower BMI women. The Hip Circumference measurement, due to the relationship to the prominent point of the buttocks, generally establishes the primary anchoring point of the absorbent article as it often represents the maximum circumference around the body in the torso region. This is especially true for women who have a more cylindrical body shape or a more apple-like body shape. In alternative embodiments the Waist Circumference measurement can be the primary anchoring point of the absorbent article as it can represent the minimum circumference around the body especially for women who have a more hourglass body shape or a more pear-like body shape. This is a function of fit at the minimum circumference, which means the product circumference and as a result force at the waist would have to increase to slide or sag due to the increased body dimension at the hip. For products comprising one uniform elastic material or a series of uniformly strained strands of material, the hip may be the highest force region of the article, especially for hour glass or pear shaped body styles. For higher BMI women and women of different shapes, the high force region can extend toward the waist as the Waist Circumference measurement approaches the Hip Circumference measurement, for example in women having a cylindrical or apple shape. The Hip Circumference and Waist Circumference are illustrated in FIG. 23. The relationship of the Hip Circumference to the Waist Circumference (Hip Circumference-to-Waist Circumference Ratio), as illustrated in FIG. 24, is an important product design parameter to ensure that the shape of the product in the waist region more closely approximates the shape of the female body in the waist region. Having an understanding of the relationship between the Hip Circumference and Waist Circumference enables targeting of elastic forces based on the body shape to enable improved fit, comfort and gasketing. Elastic forces that are too high as well as elastic forces that are too low can both have a negative impact on fit, performance and comfort. High force leads to fit that is too tight and uncomfortable due to skin marking and low forces lead to loose fit, sagging and potential leakage due to poor gasketing.
The Hip Width and Waist Width are illustrated in FIG. 25. The Body Hip-to-Waist Silhouette, as illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27 correlates with the Hip Circumference-to-Waist Circumference Ratio as the values of both decrease as BMI and Waist Circumference increase. This is shown in FIGS. 24, 26, and 27.
As the Hip Circumference increases with BMI and Waist Circumference, Hip Circumference-to-Waist Circumference Ratio and Body Hip-to-Waist Silhouette both decrease. For products designed to deliver fit with the front waist edge near the navel, as shown in FIG. 29a, then a key benefit would be to have the Product Hip-to-Waist Silhouette closer to that of the Body Waist-to-Side Silhouette and designed to change accordingly with BMI and Waist Circumference. However for a product designed to deliver a lower fit relative to the navel, as shown in FIG. 29b, having the Product Hip-to-Waist Silhouette match the Body Hip-to-Waist Silhouette may not necessarily provide for a better fit since the edge of the product lies between the waist and the hip. The designs enabled by the present disclosure are more targeted by design to provide a greater level of fit, gasketing, comfort and discretion, across an array designed for the BMI range of wearers and for consumers who desire different styles of fit for example those consumers who prefer a lower fit relative to the navel.
Adult incontinence (“AI”) absorbent articles of the present disclosure may be used to absorb and contain liquid and other discharges from the human body to prevent the body and clothing from becoming soiled. For adults who suffer from urinary incontinence, urine voiding consists of two general types: stress urinary incontinence (“SUI”) and urge urinary incontinence (“UUI”). SUI is caused by high pressure on the bladder induced by coughing, sneezing, laughing, bending, etc., and can result in a high flow rate though at a smaller urine volume that is associated with UUI. UUI can result in a full bladder release, though at a lower flow rate than that associated with SUI.
Adult Incontinence articles come in a variety of designs, each typically available in multiple sizes, including 2, 3 and 4 size arrays. The size of articles of the prior art typically affects, for example, the size of the waist opening, the size of the openings around the thighs, and the length or “pitch” of the article. Many of these prior art articles are designed to fit ranges up to 100 pounds. The prior art articles are typically sized and sold by waist circumference dimension. The various sizes can have a range in waist circumference of as much as 12 inches and in some cases up to 16 inches for a given size. If a consumer selects an adult incontinence article of the prior art which is size appropriate based on the waist circumference dimension of the wearer given the large ranges associated with the various sizes, the thigh openings or pitch of the article, for instance, may be too large for proper fit on the wearer, potentially leading to slipping, sliding, sagging, drooping, or a loss of gasketing effects that are designed to inhibit leakage. Alternatively, depending on where the wearer is within the large size range, the thigh opening or pitch of the article may be too small for proper fit, potentially leading to wearer discomfort, skin marking of the wearer's skin or improper application or positioning of the article on the wearer.
Desirably, an adult absorbent article should be designed and sized to maintain contact with and conform as closely as possible to a wearer's body. Such a body-conforming design may increase the effectiveness of the adult absorbent article by reducing the possibility that urine, or the like, will spread or travel along the wearer's body and leak out of rather than be absorbed into the adult absorbent article. However, current adult absorbent articles on the market do not adequately address body shape or product shape and therefore do not fit a broad range of users adequately or provide the desired level of close fit. Typically AI packages of adult absorbent articles are labeled with a recommended wearer waist circumference range that the packaged article is intended to fit. As a result, the waist circumference is often the sole criteria used to identify the size of an AI article. The waist size does not in itself adequately describe the body shape of the individual and therefore does not help define the hip or thigh circumference or the pitch that may be needed to provide the proper fit, comfort, coverage and gasketing of the article. This is the case even though other characteristics and anthropometric attributes of potential wearers (for example, age, height, weight, thigh circumference, and rise) may vary widely within the recommended waist circumference range, and may result in an ill-fitting article even though a wearer's waist circumference falls within that range. There is a need for adult absorbent articles that conform well to various wearers' body shapes and sizes. While there is a wide range of body shapes and sizes among women, available products do not reflect this wide range; rather, absorbent articles available today within a given product array tend to be scaled versions of each other, and do not even follow the natural trend of body shape and dimensional changes across the range of consumers, i.e. smaller to larger women as well as women of varying shape.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is on the rise globally for both men and women. In the U.S. alone, more than ⅓ of adult females are now considered obese (BMI>30). This has changed significantly over the past 30 years; in 1980 only about 16% of U.S. adult females were obese. Larger women exhibit different ratios of body anthropometrics than smaller women, i.e., all body dimensions do not simply scale-up as women get larger. In addition, women across the range of BMI may also have very different body shapes. There is a lack of recognition and understanding of this issue by current adult absorbent article manufacturers and as such consumers' needs are not being adequately met. Therefore, there is a need to develop adult absorbent articles for a wide variety of body shapes and sizes in order to provide an improved level of fit and contact between the body and the adult absorbent article to reduce the occurrence leakage and improve the overall fit, comfort, coverage and discretion of the article. There is a clear need for adult absorbent articles which are designed for variety of wearers based on their BMI and body shape. There is also a need to communicate to wearers the benefits of such customized adult absorbent articles in an easy-to-understand manner (e.g., some women may not understand what BMI is or know their BMI number), which is not off-putting (e.g., without stigmatizing or embarrassing women based on their BMI).
These are all objects of the present disclosure; embodiments of the present disclosure may combine various objects mentioned. A particular embodiment may, but need not, embody every object as described.